Varanasi has only one air quality monitoring station                                               

Navy boosts its air warfare capability                                                                        

Kerala first Indian state to tap into masala bond market                                         

Nandan Nilekani-led panel on digital payments submits report to RBI                  

Democrats concerned over Trump’s India policy                                                     

In a first for Asia, Taiwan Bill legalises same-sex marriages                                  

Vande Bharat Express crosses another milestone                                                   

Varanasi has only one air quality monitoring station

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• Varanasi continues to have only one air quality monitoring station, despite being ranked as among the top 3 most polluted cities in the world three years ago.

Zero ‘good-air’ days :

• The Central Pollution Control Board’s 2015 dataset (made public in 2016) found Varanasi’s air quality to be among the most toxic in the country and that it had only one air quality monitor capable of measuring particulate matter 2.5 and particulate matter 10 levels.

• Out of 227 days measured in 2015, the city had zero ‘good-air’ days and this was attributed to the heavy levels of industrial pollution.

• Biomass burning, vehicular emissions, brick kilns and diesel generator sets were also major contributors.

Let me Breathe - Portal  :

• Let Me Breathe is a portal that investigates how people cope with poor air quality. It had queried civic officials and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board with Right to Information requests to check what progress Varanasi had made in improving its air quality.

Steps taken :

• Varanasi is one of the cities that is part of the National Clean Air Programme. NCAP has been launched in 2019 for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution in India. It is a five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year.

• It aims at 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5and PM10 concentration by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.

• The programme targets 102 non-attainment cities which were identified by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the basis of their ambient air quality data between 2011 and 2015.

• Non-attainment cities are those which have been consistently showing poorer air quality than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Navy boosts its air warfare capability

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• The Indian Navy achieved a significant milestone in enhancing its Anti Air Warfare Capability with the maiden cooperative engagement firing of the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM).

MRSAM Firing Trials :

• The firing trial was carried out by the Indian Navy, DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries.

• The successful conduct of the test has been the result of sustained efforts by all stakeholders over the years.

• DRDL Hyderabad, a DRDO Lab, has jointly developed this missile in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries. The MRSAM has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited, India.

• The MRSAM has the capability of providing defence against air, marine and ground threats.It has several systems which include a digital radar, command and control, launchers, and interceptors with advanced homing seekers.

• With the successful proving of this cooperative mode of engagement, the Indian Navy has become a part of a select group of Navies that have this niche capability.

• This capability significantly enhances the combat effectiveness of the Indian Navy thereby providing an operational edge over potential adversaries.

                                                                                                                                                                 Source :- PIB

Kerala first Indian state to tap into masala bond market

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.

Context :

• Kerala is the first Indian state to tap into the market for masala bonds — debt papers sold overseas by an Indian entity that are denominated in rupees — to raise development funds.

More about the news:

• KIIFB became the first sub-sovereign entity in India to tap the offshore rupee international bond market.

• The bond has been listed on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.

• KIIFB strives to be at the forefront of creating a sustainable development model for infrastructure financing in the emerging markets and an exemplar for best practices in corporate governance and fund management

Masala Bond :

• Masala bonds are bonds issued by an Indian entity in a foreign market in the rupee denomination.

• It is a way for an entity to borrow from foreign investors and is due to be paid at a fixed end date.

• Masala bonds can only be issued in a country and subscribed by a resident of such a country that is a member of the Financial Action Task Force and whose securities market regulator is a member of the International Organisation of Securities Commission.

• Further,it can also be subscribed by multilateral and regional financial institutions where India is a member country.

• According to RBI, the minimum maturity period for Masala Bonds raised up to Rupee equivalent of USD 50 million in a financial year should be 3 years and for bonds raised above USD 50 million equivalent in INR per financial year should be 5 years.

• According to RBI,any corporate, body corporate and Indian bank is eligible to issue Masala bonds overseas.

• But the money raised through such bonds cannot be used for real estate activities other than for development of integrated township or affordable housing projects.It also can’t be used for investing in capital markets, purchase of land and on-lending to other entities for such activities as stated above.

                                                                                                                                         Source :- Hindu Business Line

Nandan Nilekani-led panel on digital payments submits report to RBI

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential

Context :

• A Reserve Bank-appointed a committee headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to RBI Governor.

Background :

• In January, the Reserve Bank of India had set up the five-member panel on deepening digital payments with a view to encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.

• The panel was tasked with

  • reviewing the existing status of digitisation of payments in the country,

  • identifying the current gaps in the ecosystem and

  • suggesting ways to bridge them and

  • assessing the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion.

• It was also asked to undertake cross country analyses with a view to identify best practices that can be adopted in our country to accelerate digitisation of the economy and financial inclusion through greater use of digital payments.

More about the news:

• Earlier this week,RBI had released a vision document for ensuring a safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable e-payment system with an aim making India a ‘cash-lite’ society.

• The ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 – 2021’, with its core theme of ‘Empowering Exceptional (E)payment Experience’, envisages to achieve “a highly digital and cash-lite society” through the goal posts of competition, cost effectiveness, convenience and confidence (4Cs).

                                                                                                                                         Source :- Business Standard

Democrats concerned over Trump’s India policy

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• US Democratic lawmakers has criticized US President for his failure to appoint a confirmed head of the state department’s South and Central Asia (SCA) bureau.

Issue :

• The department had failed to engage directly with Sri Lankan government officials during the country’s October-December 2018 constitutional crisis.

• It has failed to form a coherent India policy.

• They also accused the department of mishandling of the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship in the midst of seeking a peace deal with the Taliban

• The representatives believe that the series of failures are in part, the result of not filling the vacancy.

India - U.S. Relation :

• The India-U.S. relationship has been mixed over the last two-odd years of the Trump administration.

• Trump had announced his South Asia policy in August 2017:

  • calling for a greater development role for India in Afghanistan (and linking that to India “making billions of dollars in trade” with the U.S.)

  • asking Pakistan to end its support for terrorism

  • seeking stability in Afghanistan.

• The administration has also sought increased defence cooperation and engagement with India (including via the Quad) and changed the name of U.S. Pacific Command to “U.S. Indo-Pacific Command” in 2018.

• The U.S. also played a central role in helping to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar sanctioned by the UN.

• However, of late, the trade-related irritants in the relationship have piled up.

• Disagreements over ICT, dairy products, medical devices, India’s e-commerce policy and the U.S.’s H-1B visa policies are yet to be resolved.

• Trump’s announcement that preferential trade benefits for India under the U.S.’s GSP program will be withdrawn and the U.S. requiring India to stop its imports of Iranian oil from May, have added to the strain on the relationship.

                                                                                                                                                          Source :- The Hindu

In a first for Asia, Taiwan Bill legalises same-sex marriages

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• Taiwan has legalized same-sex marriage, making it the first Asian country to do so.

Background :

• In 2017, the Taiwan’s apex Court had ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the Taiwanese Constitution.

•  It also directed the government to make necessary changes to the law within two years.

More about the news:

• Same-sex marriage is legal in 26 U.N. member states

• In April 2019, Brunei announced strict new Islamic laws that made same-sex relationship and adultery offences punishable by stoning to death.

  • However, later it extended a moratorium on the legislation in the backdrop of global backlash against the country led by international human rights groups and celebrities.

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Vande Bharat Express crosses another milestone

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Context :

• The indigenously-built Vande Bharat Express (Train 18 ) has completed one lakh running kilometres without missing a single trip.

Vande Bharat Express (Train 18 ) :

• The Vande Bharat Express, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from New Delhi to Varanasi on February 15

• It is India’s first indigenously built engineless train capable of running at a speed of up to 160 kmph,It is also referred to as a successor to the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express.

• Train 18 is a self-propelled engine-less train and is energy-efficient as its coaches are fitted with LED lights.

• The features of the train includes modern air-conditioned coaches, touch free automatic doors, GPS-enabled passenger information system and onboard uninterrupted Wifi and infotainment system.

                                                                                                                                 Source :- Hindu Business Line

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